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Owners of seven properties in central Ohio have been approved for historic-preservation tax
credits worth around $14 million, including $5 million for Downtown’s LeVeque Tower, the state said
yesterday.

In all, the Ohio Department of Development awarded tax credits totaling $35.8 million to 18
owners planning work on 44 historic buildings in 10 communities throughout Ohio. The projects are
expected to leverage $237.5 million in private investments.

The $27.6 million renovation of the LeVeque Tower includes work on the building’s terra-cotta
exterior and transforming the building into a mixed-use complex with apartments in the tower and
revitalized office space in the base.

A local investment group purchased the building more than a year ago for $4.04 million.

Other Columbus projects to receive funding include Grant Commons, which was awarded a $3 million
tax credit as part of a plan to renovate 23 duplex and row house properties on E. 11th Avenue and
N. 5th Street in the New Indianola Historic District.

The buildings initially were to be demolished. Instead, they will be renovated into apartments
as part of a partnership with Wagenbrenner Development, which is involved in a larger
revitalization effort in the Weinland Park neighborhood. The total cost of the project is $12.6
million.

Tax credits of $664,900 were awarded for a project at the site of the empty Yankee Trader
building at 463 N. High St. As part of a $3.9 million project, a hamburger restaurant will be built
on the first floor, office space on the second floor and apartments on the top three floors.

The building has been empty since 2010.

In Knox County, the state awarded tax credits of $4.7 million for the renovation of the Woodward
Opera House and Cooper Building in Mount Vernon. As part of the $28.5 million project, the 1851
building will be restored with 500 seats, an operations center for the Knox Partnership for Arts
and Culture and improved office and retail space.

The other projects are:

• Renovation of the vacant Franklinton Post Office, 72 S. Gift St., one of the first public
buildings in Columbus when it was built from logs in 1807. The $640,000 project comes with a tax
credit of $125,000. • Rehabilitation of the buildings at 620-630 E. Broad St. as part of a $2.2 m
illion plan to get them ready to support new tenants. The tax credits total $313,145.

• Renovation of the Bodenheimer-Mayer House in downtown Lancaster. The $343,500 project was
awarded a tax credit of $71,000.